Spain will go ahead with arms deal with KSA

MADRID, Sept 14: Spain will go ahead with the sale of
400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, Foreign
Minister Josep Borrell said on Thursday.
"The decision is that these bombs will be delivered
to honor a contract that comes from 2015, and was
made by the previous government," Borrell told Onda
Cero radio.
Several government ministries had worked on the issue
for a week and the contract was reviewed three times
by a commission that authorizes arms sales, Borrell
said, adding, "We found no reason not to carry it
out."
Borrell said the laser-guided bombs hit their targets
with "extraordinary precision" of within one meter.
"This kind of weapon does not produce the same sort
of bombing as less sophisticated weapons, launched a
bit randomly."
The defense ministry said last month that the current
Socialist government, which took power in June, had
never sold arms that could be used against a civilian
population and would review the criteria used to
authorize arms sales.
Another report from Islamabad adds: Maulana Tahir
Mehmood Ashrafi, the president of the All Pakistan
Ulema Council, has congratulated King Salman for the
excellent services provided to pilgrims every year,
which allow them to perform Hajj rituals with as much
ease and comfort as possible. His comments came
during a meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan
Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki at the Kingdom's embassy in
Islamabad on Wednesday.
After performing holy pilgrimage in the Kingdom
recently as part of King Salman's Hajj and Umrah
Program, Ashrafi told Arab News that on behalf of the
PUC he expressed solidarity with the Kingdom in the
Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, Operation Decisive
Storm. The Ulema also issued a fatwa against the
Houthi militia and Daesh terrorists in the region.
"The Saudi leadership and its security institutions
are a source of pride for us, as they are protecting
this holy land," he said.
Ashrafi studied at Lahore's Jamia Qasmia and Jamia
Zia Ul Uloom, before completing the Dars-e-Nizami at
Jamia Ashrafia. He graduated with a bachelor's degree
in journalism from Punjab University, and went on to
earn a master's degree in Arabic and Islamic studies
from the same institution.